Restaurants, both full-service and fast food, account for more than 77 percent of all food-away-from-home sales. American consumers spend 48 percent of their food budget on food consumed away from home, according to the National Restaurant Association, with U.S. adults purchasing a restaurant snack or meal 5.8 times per week at an annual cost of $1,077 per person. The United States has 945,000 restaurants and foodservice outlets. The National Restaurant Association projects 2008 sales at $558 billion, up from $379 billion in 2000.
Spending on food away from home accounts for about half of total food expenditures, up from 34 percent in 1974. Factors influencing the increased consumption of food away from home include growing consumer demand for a variety of foods, convenience and entertainment.
Sources
Let’s Eat Out. Americans Weigh Taste, Convenience and Nutrition, Economic Research Service, USDA, 2006.
National Restaurant Association
Other Links
Links checked June 2008.